Sustainable Development Glossary

Anthropogenic - defined as 'Having its origin in the activities of man.' It is often used when discussing the causes of climate change - greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activites are anthropogenic causes.

Biocapacity
Biocapacity refers to the capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an on-going supply of renewable resources and to absorb its wastes.
Unsustainability occurs when an area's ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity.

Carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions is the term used to describe the release of carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon is one of the most abundant greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today. Anthropogenic (human caused) carbon dioxide emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels, gas flaring and the production of cement. Carbon dioxide is primarily used by plants in their photosynthetic processes. Carbon can remain in the earth's atmosphere for about a hundred years.

Climate
Climate can be defined as the characteristic weather conditions of a country or region.

Climate Change
Climate Change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years.

Climatic variables
Climate variables are factors which affect the characteristic weather conditions of a country or region. These factors include the variation of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, sunshine hours, cloud cover, visibility etc.

Consumerism
Consumerism refers to the increase in the consumption of goods. The Oxford English Dictionary provides this definition "emphasis on or preoccupation with the acquisition of consumer goods".

Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest, or stand of trees, and the uncovered land put to a non-forest use.

Ecological Crisis
An ecological crisis occurs when the environment of a species (or a population) changes in a way that threatens its survival.

Economic Crisis
An economic crisis is a severe downturn, or recession, in the economy. It may involve decreases in production, investment, employment and household incomes.

Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight.

Environmental Degradation
Environmental degradation is an adverse change or disturbance to the environment. Examples include the depletion of resources such as air, water and soil, the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife.

Ethical principles
Ethical principles promote moral values such as trust, truth, fairness and kindness. There is not one consistent set of principles, they are frequently vaguely defined and open to interpretation.

First World
The First World is a term used to generalise countries that have advanced economies and very high Human Development Indices. These countries are mostly found in North America, Western Europe, Australia and Japan.

Fossil Fuel
Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons. They are formed from the remains of dead plants and animals that have been exposed to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years. Examples include coal, oil and natural gas.

Global Warming
Global warming is the increase of atmospheric temperatures on earth.

Greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gases are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. These gases are present in the atmosphere as a result of natural and anthropogenic (human) processes.

Industrialisation
Industrialisation is a process of social change and economic development that is closely related with technological innovation and large-scale production.

Industrialised countries
Industrialised countries are countries that have advanced economies, technology and very high Human Development Indices.

Non-renewable source
Energy sources are considered non-renewable if they cannot be replenished (made again) in a short period of time. These resources often exist in a fixed amount. Examples include oil, coal, natural gas and uranium.

Water Footprinting
The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. (www.waterfootprint.org)